


A Skywalker's Passing

by Herald_of_Dreams



Series: Star Wars Tales [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: New Republic Era - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Drama, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-02
Updated: 2013-06-02
Packaged: 2017-12-13 17:06:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/826722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Herald_of_Dreams/pseuds/Herald_of_Dreams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written in 2004. Luke Skywalker finally comes to the end of his road. Even dying, he isn't alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Skywalker's Passing

Life was a gift but so was death. _Depending on who it was referring to_ , Anakin reflected, standing next to his mentor Obi-Wan in the calmness of the Force.

 _The Force is a gift_ , he though dreamily _and I misunderstood it. I chose the dark path and it did forever dominate my destiny_ , as annoying as the phrase was. It had some truth and he wished now, in his death, that he could have understood it in life.

He looked around himself, at the coolness of the life of a dead Jedi Master. It was good to him, because it gave him his wonderful angel, Padmè.

He looked around at the surroundings of the Force, wonderful and life giving in its light side and sinister and angry in the dark side. It had been his choice and he had chosen. It had been the wrong choice but he had wanted revenge then, for Padmè's death at the hands of the Jedi.

He grinned at Streen and Gantoris, two of his son’s now deceased apprentices. Gantoris had been the first casualty of his teachings, swayed by the darksider Exar Kun.

Streen had died of grief three years later, grief and the ill-fated moment of coming upon a Sith Lord intent on killing Luke.

 _Luke_ , he thought, smiling at the thought of his amazing son. _You are so much smarter than me_ , he thought. He was a better Jedi Master and a smarter one at that. His grin widened at the thought of his two grandchildren, Ben and Mali Skywalker.

Both were wonderful young Jedi and Ben certainly took after his father and paternal grandfather. Luke was a good father to them and it showed in the way they adored him.

Anakin wished that he could have been as good of a father to Luke but it had been impossible, since he had had no idea of Luke’s existence.

Mara walked over to him and Anakin smiled at his daughter-in-law, glad that she was the mother of those children and the wife of his son. She had died three years ago, at the hands of the Yuzhan Vong named Nom Anor. Her death had been catastrophic to Luke, who had loved her without reason.

Obi-Wan walked over to Streen, concerned at the old Jedi’s sudden pain, which had also given Mara a headache. Anakin frowned, then gritted his teeth and used a soft whisper of the Force to soothe his headache.

“Somebody is dying,” Obi-Wan said solemnly, “Streen knows who it is.”

“Who is it, Streen? Is it somebody we know well?” Padme questioned.

 _Yes, it is_. This thought raced through Anakin’s mind and he realized that Streen was in enough pain that he wasn’t using his voice, for fear of hurting the others.

“Streen, who is it? We need to know.” Obi-Wan murmured to him.

“It is Master Skywalker. I can feel his pain since he was my direct teacher. It’s a battle and he is losing his life.” Streen said, tears in his eyes.

“Come on, Anakin.”

“Do I really have to witness my son’s death, Obi-Wan?” Anakin said harshly, harsh from sadness and pain.

“He needs to know that we are there for him, Anakin. Especially you, he needs to feel.” Obi-Wan said, feeling Anakin’s sadness at the pain of his son.

“All right, I’ll go.” Anakin walked toward Obi-Wan, who gripped his arm and tapped into the Force’s limitless abilities.

Anakin sighed, hoping that he wouldn’t cry out or just cry.  
 * *

“Han!”

That was the first thing that Anakin heard when they appeared near the scene. Leia, his wonderful and strong daughter, was shouting through tears to her husband.

“Han, grab Ben. He’ll try and go after Luke!”

Anakin watched as Han spun around and seized Ben’s arms by the wrists, hanging on even when the young Jedi used his full strength to jump forward and away, trying to break toward his father.

“Leia, hold Mali or she’ll try and break away also.” Anakin said to his daughter.

“Father, why are you and General Kenobi here?”

“To make sure that Luke knows that it’s time for him to leave. He has done enough for the Jedi. Now he needs to give it up to a younger generation.” Kenobi said to her.

“They idolize him,” Leia protested, “ and they will go crazy if he dies.”

“Leia, you knew his death would come some time or another. He needs to let go. Mara, your mother, Streen and Gantoris are waiting for him.” Anakin said, though he was close to breaking down in tears himself.

“Ben will be crushed if he dies. They are close! And I don’t want to lose him either!” she sobbed, distraught.

“Where is he, Leia?” Obi-Wan asked.

“Down there. You can’t miss him. He is the only Jedi fighting five Sith Lords at the same time. In fact, he’s the only Jedi there. They forced us back here.” Leia said.  
* * * 

Anakin and Obi-Wan shimmered out and reappeared when they felt the vast evil in the Force. Obi-Wan had given the task of tracking them to Anakin, as he was always sick when he touched such evil presences.

Anakin reeled in shock from the Sith Lords, so great was his surprise at their evil intent.

Obi-Wan pulled him out of it and they both stared in shocked silence at the scene before them. “Well,“ Obi-Wan managed, “he certainly has your talent for multiple fighting.”

Anakin wasn’t even able to manage a laugh as he watched his son fight off the Sith Lords, fighting with every ounce of Force power that he had left in him.

Luke looked every bit the aged Jedi Master, with his traditional robes and a face worn by many troubles, delights and weary pains. He was arthritic in the wrists and knees but his hair was still blond, with white streaks coming from the temples and laugh lines crossing his face, now set as he fought off a well-trained darksider.

Anakin turned to Obi-Wan, wild and upset. “Isn’t there any way that we can tell him how to soften his death to Ben and Mali?”

Obi-Wan remembered something and sent to Luke, _Luke, do you hear me? Break the training bond with Ben and Mali. Tell them first why and then break it. It will help them if they don’t feel it through their training bond with you._

He added, _your father and I are waiting for you. You aren’t alone. It’s time for you to let go and let your children and Leia take over. You’ve done enough._

Luke shook his head but snapped his training bond with his children, leaving them with their rank as Jedi Knights and leaving them gifts of unique Force abilities, ones that only he had held.

He continued to fight but it was now in foresight that it was time for him to pass on. His weary body was ready but the most ready was his spirit, tired of the endless fight against evil, bone-weary of fighting, of living without his dear Mara and without his father.

Finally he messed up and two of the Sith Lords drove their sabers into him, into his middle and his upper back.

They left, knowing that he was dying and Luke managed to put out his saber before he dropped to his knees, then his side, letting his body shut down.

Ben appeared, running toward his father’s dying form, dropping to his knees next to him. He was crying heartfelt and he dropped his face, burying it in his hands.

Luke lifted one hand with effort and stroked his son’s hair, murmuring something to him, each word an effort to say.

Anakin watched this and let the tears stream down his face, weeping at what reminded him so much of his own death.  
* * * * * * * *

Luke watched his dear son cry and stroked his hair. It reminded him of the fine grains of sand on Tatooine and he smiled. He picked up his saber with an effort and said to Ben,

“Here, my son. I want you to have this. It was mine after I lost my old one on Bespin, in the duel with my father. It holds a legacy and one that should be passed on. I love you Ben, tell your sister that I love her too, very much. Tell everybody that it was wonderful living with such great friends. Tell your sister not to give out the specific details of my death for a while.”

 _Leia, carry on this legacy. Give your family the love they deserve and help my children recover from the shock of my death. Don’t grieve for me; I’ll be in good hands. Tell Han that I love him like a true brother and that now I hope we are even. Please don’t grieve for me; the Force and Father will take care of me now._  
* * * * * * * * *

_And so the great Jedi Master Luke Skywalker passed on into the world beyond the living. His legacy and legendary life was told in the far corners of the galaxy and the Jedi prospered because of his sacrifice._  
  



End file.
